This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Signals of Deception by Dave Osborn is a fast-paced, action-filled cybercrime thriller at the highest level. When ICE Cybercrime experts based on the Texas border begin to notice data flows of information that appear to have no relationship to cartel activities, red flags are raised. CIA Cyber-operations agent Scott Douglass is concerned when he realizes these data packages are feeding directly into AEGIS, the U.S. Department of Defense’s high-tech AI, and potentially providing false or misleading information about military actions worldwide to those in power. He quickly realizes he is involved in a race against time to convince the powers that be that supposed offensive military buildups by the Soviets and the Chinese may not be real. The potential for World War III, however, is very real, and only Scott and his team can prevent it.
Signals of Deception offers a fascinating premise. The idea that misinformation and overreliance on technology can be used as a weapon, especially by rogue state actors to confuse and obfuscate the true intentions of their military actions, is intriguing. Dave Osborn has created a thoroughly believable scenario as well as a lead character, a “hero”, who is capable of multiple adventures and missions. This story rides the wave of tension that the plot allows due to the time constraints on Scott and his team to achieve results. It was both surprising and annoying to see the blind faith that so many of the military and the political establishment had in their AI Defense program. Although the risks of not accepting the information were enormous, one would have to argue that the dangers of blindly accepting the information were even greater. For the action aficionado, there is much more than cyber-detection involved in this clever plot; there is also plenty of good old-fashioned operational spycraft to keep readers on the edge of their seats. I was thrilled to note that Scott Douglass will be a recurring character, and I look forward to reading more of Dave Osborn's work. This was an exciting and well-written story that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.